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On Rediscovering Balance: Jason Garner, Former Live Nation Exec

“The more money I made, the more I had to lose. The closer I got to the top the more the fear turned to terror. There was an ever-increasing feeling that something bad was going to happen to take away everything I’d earned.” – Jason Garner, “And I Breathed”

In 2008, Jason Garner, then the CEO of Concerts for Live Nation, was #15 on Fortune’s Highest Paid Under 40 list. On Oct. 29 of 2010 he was unemployed.

The year prior, at age 37, Garner had faced the death of his mother, who had raised him as a single parent in Arizona, from stomach cancer. Garner himself was in the midst of a second divorce. As the CEO of Global Music for Live Nation he was responsible for 20,000 concerts a year for artists like Coldplay, John Mayer, Shakira, Nickelback, Beyonce and Jay Z. He was an officer in a publicly traded company and mentored by Chief Executive Michael Rapino, whom he considered to be “one of the best.” He’d achieved the life he’d been seeking for most of his 37 years that he anticipated would make him ecstatic, or at least leave him feeling happy and loved.

After a period of self discovery, executive Jason Garner has rediscovered himself as a consultant and author with the upcoming release of his book “And I Breathed”

Instead, as he’d sat in the room where his mother lay dying, Garner came to a sobering realization: “When we die, this is it, for all of us—we leave the world in the same way, in the same kind of room, with just a couple of the people around who love us.”

With every success, he’d been compelled by the idea that it “still wasn’t enough.” With every financial win, he realized he had still more to lose. He tried to go back to work, but his heart was no longer in it. Within a year, the job he’d strived so hard to achieve—the job—was gone (like musical artist Chris Martin and actress Gwyneth Paltrow, it was a “conscious uncoupling” he says with a smile).

Yes, he had overcome his impoverished childhood and by all observable standards was still among the financially elite. But with no work to hide behind, he couldn’t quiet the voice in his head: “You’re screwed now, Jason.”

What would it take to actually feel successful?

Garner’s new book, And I Breathed, chronicles his effort to arrive at these answers. Several weeks ago I had the chance to interview Garner and to preview the book, due on Amazon in mid September and available for pre-order from Garner’s website now.

Jason Garner’s journey of self-discovery has taken him to different locales than his former life as a CEO of Live Nation.

So what did he do? First he got a good therapist, he says, who helped him through the process of getting in touch with himself. As he recalls the experience, he says it allowed him to “breathe.” Then he sought other teachers. He spent hundreds of hours with Daoist Masters and travelled to the top of China for time and studies with Zen Buddhist monks.

What did he learn that can benefit other entrepreneurs? (Particularly the millions of us who are still “in the game”).

“I learned about life not being constructed of ‘buckets,’” he said. “Businessman, father, spiritual being—all of these can be one and the same. But it takes stopping and breathing and applying better sensibilities into our business, into our parenthood, etc. We can learn to create balance, and to treat ourselves with the same love and respect we treat our businesses with.”

Garner distills his newly discovered focus into three areas that he offers up as advice to other entrepreneurs, as follows:

Learn Self Love. Learn to nurture yourself in the same way that you nurture a business. For example, “Every day I drink at least one green juice smoothie,” he says. “One green juice instead of trying to eat five salads. I drink more than one. But at least one.” He also makes it a point to shop for whole foods, to make them at his house, or even to have them delivered. “We need to nurture the community that is our body. In business so many of us were living with no rest; skipping our lunch breaks.” For those in business, self love is paramount as a business strategy as well, Garner says. “When I’m healthy, I’ll do a better job at work,” he maintains.

Learn Flexibility. “In business I had learned to be a flexible human being,” Garner says. “I could roll with the punches. The bad economy would figure things out. The food in the dressing room was not quite right and a rock star was angry. I became like bamboo–I would bend but not break. But my body was rigid outside of my work. Everything else was very rigid.” Today, Garner begins every day with yoga. “Not the yoga that’s a scary word,” he says, “But just stretching. At least 10-15 minutes every day to get the body open and flowing. Your body talks to your mind; your mind becomes flexible, and you feel at ease in your life.”

Learn to grow the Warrior, and also the Monk. Learn to use both of these skillsets, Garner says. Be a warrior when appropriate, and a monk when appropriate, using the lessons gained in battle. “I’ve learned I didn’t have to turn everything into a struggle to find success,” he remarks. “Just take some time to stop and breathe and relax and let your mind calm down a bit. Achieve the level of balance you can and then use the approach the situation calls for each day.

And what is Garner doing currently as an entrepreneur? He writes a weekly blog that shares the stories and the learning experiences of his life, both former and present, he tells me. And he consults other entrepreneurs: “I consult for athletes, business executives and entertainers,” he says. In short, he’s maintaining his balance. He’s turned his career battlefield into a playground where he invites others to play. And happily, the former nightmares have faded away.

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